Customized Systems

Anexsys seeks easiest route

Local firm gains public contracts

Before hunters in Kentucky can truck home their trophy, they have to call Chicago's Anexsys.

And that, says Anexsys President Stan Dietzel, is a great example of government efficiency.

Jointly owned by Bank One Corp. and Firstar, the 6-year-old company specializes in developing and managing technology aimed at lessening the hassles of dealing with federal, state and local government.

Kentucky hunters use the company's call centers to report deer and turkey kills and to enter lotteries for the right to hunt on state land.

Army personnel use Anexsys' Web-based applications to check account balances for military stores and to make payments.

The States of Ohio and Idaho use custom-built systems to collect and distribute child support payments.

"We're all about making life easier for everyone," Dietzel said.

Doing business with the government certainly made it easier to get the start-up off the ground.

"The government provides steadier demand and more stability as a result," Dietzel said. "It doesn't move as high in the high cycles or as low in the low cycles as everyone else, and that's been good for us."

An eight-year contract worth more than $300 million between Bank One and the U.S. Treasury Department made Anexsys profitable in its first year, Dietzel said.

The company developed and maintains the Federal Electronic Tax Payment System for the northern half of the country. Launched in 1996, the system allows individuals and businesses to pay their taxes over the phone, through software and network servers. On Sept. 6, the Treasury Department will unveil a Web-based payment system developed by Anexsys.

Eager to cultivate a broader client base, the company started moving aggressively in state and local realms in 1999. Last year, Anexsys generated $90 million in sales.

Kentucky turned to Anexsys for help with wildlife management. The state requires hunters to report biological information about every deer or turkey they kill so state officials can track the animal populations more accurately.

Before Anexsys, hunters were forced to register carcasses at one of the state's 800 check-in stations. Data was collected manually on note cards that often were filled out incompletely or lost, said David Bruce, a database administrator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.

After Anexsys stepped in, hunters could call in information, and state officials estimated that the $150,000 in annual operating costs would drop to $40,000.

"You can't help but see all the time, money and resources they've saved us," Bruce said. "We get information almost immediately and can give our findings right back to the public much faster.